Chapter 3
Making Light Dance to the Music
In This Chapter
Taking a peek at the project
Creating the circuit
Lighting up to music
No doubt you’ve seen the various lights that change with the mood of the music at a disco, maybe in a school hall or at a wedding. One of the lights reacts to the sound from the record, flashing with the beat, subsiding in the quieter passages and so on.
In this chapter, we combine light and sound electronics to build a light that works in a similar way, but which you can use with any kind of music (you don’t have to drag your 1970s’ flares from the back of the wardrobe, unless you really want to). We show you how to set up two rows of lights that illuminate to different frequencies of sound. When you put on a fast, loud or heavily accented piece of music – say, swing or reggae – the lights dance all around. Every piece of music has its own, unique effect.
We arrange the lights like notes on a music staff, but you can put them in any arrangement you like. By working through this fun project, you get to know more about frequency filters, operational amplifiers and how music can light up the dance floor.
Illuminating the Big Picture: Project Overview
